A Sri Lankan court has sentenced 15 people to 220 years in prison each for their involvement in the deadly 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. All 15 convicted individuals plan to appeal their sentences, according to a defense lawyer. The court found them guilty of participating in attacks that killed 279 people and injured over 500 others.
The bombings were carried out by nine suicide bombers from the National Thawheed Jamaat, an extremist group linked to ISIS. They targeted three Catholic churches and luxury hotels on April 21, 2019. Among the victims were 11 Indians and many Sri Lankans.
The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar heard 2,309 witnesses and reviewed over 23,000 charges during the trial. Nine of the accused were acquitted, while a tenth was found guilty only on some charges. The court also ordered the seizure of their property.
A defense lawyer representing seven of the convicted stated they would appeal both the convictions and the lengthy sentences in the Supreme Court. Some defendants lack legal representation but have been granted copies of proceedings to file appeals.
Catholic Church spokesman Father Jude Krishantha welcomed the verdict, saying it brought a sense of justice to the victims’ families. Meanwhile, two former officials—Hemasiri Fernando and Pujith Jayasundara—were sentenced to death for failing to act on intelligence that could have prevented the attacks.